Latest / The Daily Writer / Prof. K’s Tips on What and How to Read

Transcript

Prof. K’s Tips on What and How to Read · The Daily Writer

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey my friend, welcome to The Daily Writer, where we help writers become authors of their own lives.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, you know that reading is really important to improving your mind and your craft.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: But have you ever wondered exactly how to improve as a reader?
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: We talk a lot about writing, of course, on this show, and many, many other people who are in the writing space talk about how to become better as writers with our craft and with our marketing and with clients and so forth.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: But nobody really ever talks about how do you become a better reader.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive into this question today.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to do that by sharing a question that email subscriber Jane Anderson sent in.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: She says this.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Recently I read a piece where the author stated that to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: I believe that too, but I don't know why.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Are there any tips for what to read or techniques for reading?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Jane, thanks so much for the question, and I appreciate you sending this in because this gives me a great jumping off point to talk about something that's very near and dear to my heart, and that is reading, of course.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I love books, not only writing them, but also reading and consuming them.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: So here in this episode today, we're going to talk about two areas that you mentioned.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is what to read, and then number two, let's talk about how to read.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I do want to say up front that I'm probably not the world's best person to answer this question because I don't really have a tightly defined system for reading.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes you come across leaders or influencers or authors or whoever it may be who they have this tightly defined system for reading.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really have that.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I just go with what seems to work for me.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now that said, I'm probably gonna go back on every you're probably gonna perceive that I'm gonna go back on everything that I just said because I do have a sort of system around this, but it's not a system that is tightly defined and it's always sort of evolving.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in here.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let's start out with a few rules that I follow when it comes to reading.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna number these off.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is I don't finish books that I don't enjoy.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I say that because I have zero guilt about not finishing a book that I don't like.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm not captivated in the first couple of chapters, regardless of whether it's fiction or nonfiction, I will set the book aside and I'll probably donate it to Goodwill or I'll give it to somebody else.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I don't really ever sell my books.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I just give books away.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, because, and this is a little side tangent here, is I think it's a major hassle to sell books.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: And most of the time when you try to sell books online or if you take them for to a resale shop or something, you really don't get very much money for them.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually find a lot more joy in just giving books away if I don't like them or if I don't want them around.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's just how I roll.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: You may do things totally different.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: So just a little side caveat there.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, anyway, number one is I don't finish books that I don't enjoy.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, I read what I need to learn in that season of my life and business.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this is important because a lot of books are considered quote unquote great.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the key thing they may not be great for you right now.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, I try to read books that advance my goals for whatever I'm trying to learn in my life.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: For example, give you a couple of examples here.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the books on my desk right now include, and I'm gonna list four here.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is the Circadian Code, and I think you pronounced the author's name Sachin Panda.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if I'm saying that correctly, so apologies uh if I butchered that name.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: But the book is called The Circadian Code, and I'm working on improving my sleep and my health right now, so this book has been great.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I'm reading this because number one, it's an easy read, and I like books that are an easy read, but I'm also trying to up my game in every area of my life.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I like to read books by people who are highly accomplished and very successful.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: And uh plus it's Arnold Schwarzenegger, he's just an interesting guy in general, so that's why I'm enjoying that book.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number three is the book Breakneck Content by Ben Settle, who is a very prolific copywriter.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: He has an email list that you really ought to subscribe to.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to emailplayers.com, you can subscribe to his email list.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: He did not pay me to say that, but I love his stuff.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's really a plus totally world class.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm reading his book, Breakneck Content, because I want to learn how to increase how to increase my own writing output.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then number four is Lead the Field by Earl Nightingale, because this book is a classic.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's an easy to read and it's super practical.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm reading this because I want to increase my value, my platform, and my influence within my industry.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And this book is helpful in that regard.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, number three here is I read a lot of history and biography.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this is just a general rule that I follow personally.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to, but this is what I do.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: I read a lot of business and personal development stuff, but I honestly enjoy history and biography the most.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I really love great storytelling, and I believe that the best lessons are the ones that we learn from those who have gone before us.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, I really love reading U.S.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: history, especially books about the Gilded Age, which is basically the period between the Civil War and the turn of the century.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: I love that age because so many great things happened in U.S.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: history then.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I also love World War II books because who doesn't love World War II books?
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love biographies of business icons like Steve Jobs and George Lucas and all kinds of people.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um also, I just got the new biography of the Rolling Stones.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: My wife got that for me by birth for my birthday, and I'm looking forward to diving into that.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love books about filmmakers and really anybody who is involved in the creative process.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I love reading all those kinds of things because I just love hearing the stories of people who have accomplished great things.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then number four here is I also read, I'm laughing because somebody will make fun of me because of this.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: I also read a lot of lowbrow stuff.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I'm a sucker for Mad magazine.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I love Mad Magazine.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've been reading it since I was a kid.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's hilarious.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I love stuff that doesn't require a lot of brain cells because I like to read easy stuff.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: I like stuff that makes me laugh.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love cartoons and all that stuff.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I also love graphic novels and comic books and a lot of other stuff that some people consider unrefined.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: But to be honest with you, I really could care less.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love to laugh, I enjoy great jokes, and I love good storytelling.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that being said, though, I think comics and graphic novels in particular are a highly underrated form of literature.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I consider Alan Moore's Watchmen graphic novel from the 1980s to be one of the great literary works of all time.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because it truly is.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you've never read it, I highly encourage you to read it.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a great story.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's absolutely mind-blowing what they were able to accomplish with that uh with that series of comics back in the 80s.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also getting to dive into Marvel comics writer Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars Comics to get ready for Avengers Doomsday, which is a movie coming out this December.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of a redo of the Secret Wars comics from Marvel back in the 80s.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they changed some things in it, but I'm just not getting into it.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So those are some of the things that I love to read in terms of uh what I select as far as mode and reading.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I want to dive into how to read.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And when it comes to how to read, I few I follow a few simple rules here as well.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, how many rules do I have here?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Four rules.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is I take a book with me everywhere I go.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you ever see me anywhere out and about, it is going to be very rare that you see me without a book.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: I may not be literally carrying it on my person if I'm just going into the store, but there will always be a book in my truck or in my computer bag or wherever.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why is because there's lots of moments during the day when you have 10 or 15 minutes between meetings, or you might be waiting in the car while your husband or wife or your kids are in the store.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever the case, there are these little pockets during the day where you can read a lot.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I have even been known, and I'm not embarrassed to say this, I have been known to take a book with me to St.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Louis Cardinals baseball games.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's be honest, baseball is mostly a game of guys standing around on the field doing nothing, and the game is basically nothing happening except every once in a while it's punctuated by occasional moments of excitement when somebody gets a hit.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I've got to have something interesting to do during those three or three and a half hours of a ball game.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I probably just upset all the sports fans out there, but let's be honest, baseball is mostly a lot of nothing happening in the game with a few moments of excitement.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm totally cool with that because I can sit and have my nachos and get some reading done and enjoy the atmosphere.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, I start and end my day usually with reading.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, one of the first things that I do when I get into the office is I read for 15 or 20 minutes at least, and I usually do the same thing before going to sleep as well, plus reading during additional moments during the day.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, as far as how I read, number three is I have several books going at once at all times.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is partly due to boredom, but it's also due to something else.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's because I like to see the cross-pollination between different books and different genres.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really cool because the more widely that you read and the more different genres and kinds of things that you read, you will start to see threads and themes and connections that those authors, of course, did not intend because they would have no way of knowing you were going to read their thing at the same time, at the same time you were reading some other author's thing.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: But it's really cool.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I love the cross-pollination and the creativity that comes from mixing and matching ideas when you're reading more than one thing at a time.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, number four, before I wrap up this episode in the next couple minutes, number four is that when I finish a book, I take notes.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I finish reading a nonfiction book, I will usually go back through it and note the things that I've underlined or where I've commented in the margins.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's a way for me to process what I've learned and to apply it as soon as I can.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: So these are just a few tips on what to read and also how to read.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: I would suggest not trying to do all these at once if you liked what I said here in this episode.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: But just pick a couple of things and put those into practice and see if you like them.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Chances are good that you may find something valuable here in this episode that will improve your reading, but probably you will also disagree with some things that I've said, which is great.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: That is totally okay because you've got to find what works for you.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, you can always shoot me an email at Kent at KentSanders.net.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to know how these reading tips worked for you, or if you vehemently disagree with something I've said, particularly in relationship to baseball, that is cool too.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: I would still love to hear from you.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, just as a quick side note, you may be wondering about the title of this podcast episode, which is Prof K's Tips for What and How to Read.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just as a quick side note, the Prof.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: K came from the fact that many of my former students back when I taught college used to call me Prof.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: K back when I was teaching college.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny because now even the students who I haven't taught for 15 or 20 years still call me that whenever I see them out and about or whenever they connect with me online.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's hilarious.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I wear that title like a badge of honor.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to call me Prof.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: K.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I like to teach here on this podcast, so feel free to call me that anytime.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, hey, my friend, thanks for listening today.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: Keep writing, keep showing up, and I'll see you tomorrow.